La Solidaridad

Green Microgym in Portland, Oregon has introduced a new way of burning away those extra pounds while saving the planet.

Too good to be true?

Well apparently, it is the first fitness center in the US that will use human power combined with solar energy to produce renewable energy. To help them in their global cause, all you have to do is to sign up for $30 a month, jump into their eco-bicycles and pedal away.

Adam Boesel, owner and founder, envisions Green Microgym to be a gym "that produces as much energy as it uses." In an interview with Sierra Club Radio, Adam says the goal of the gym is to "[achieve] a net zero energy usage [carbon] footprint."

Peta President and animal-rights activist Ingrid Newkirk has published a book called One Can Make a Difference: How Simple Actions Can Change the World: a compilation of essays written by 50 world-changers like celebrities Bridget Bardot and Oliver Stone and other humanitarian heroes. Ingrid´s compilation is a testament that neither fame nor lack of resources are excuses not to make positive action. In her book, she chronicles the journey and the struggles of those who believed they can make a difference.  In the end, the power of belief is the main driving force or the ingredient that can change the world!

Ingrid herself is best known for almost single-handedly PETA, the largest animal rights organization in the world.

Order the book here.

Recognizing the real threats of climate change, the Spanish council of ministers has just approved a reforestation project this Friday to plant 45 million trees in the next four years in the Spanish peninsula and in the Baleares Islands, which have been suffering from frequent forest fires due to desertification, costing the government major economic loss.

This announcement came a day after it was reported in Reuters that the Spanish people are one of the least informed among its European neighbors on the negative effects of global warming. Elena Espinosa, minister for the Environment also announced the creation of a Research Institute for Climate Change in Zaragoza Spain, the same location where the International Expo 2008 for Water was held this year, discussing the challenges of water and sustainable development.